The Fortifications of the Crusader Period

Sites

(Catalogue of the High
Middle Age Strongholds and Town
Fortifications of the Eastern Mediterranean Lands)

This preliminary version of the database CHASTEL is a
spin-off of a larger
project to establish a scientific gazetteer of all known fortified
sites of the period, i.e. the epoch from the 11th to the 14th century.
The
geographical frame covers the area of the former Crusader states and
the
neighbouring Byzantine, Armenian*, and Islamic territories. Therefore,
it focuses on sites located in the countries of the Eastern
Mediterranean
(Greece, Turkey, Cyprus, Syria, Lebanon, Israel/Palestine, Jordan, and
Egypt). The entries are supposed to reflect the state of research and
will thus
be continuously updated and augmented.

*Armenia here denominates the Armenian
dominion of Cilicia which
emerged in the aftermath of the battle of Manzikert (1071). In 1198 it
became a kingdom, formally alleged to the German Empire, existing until
1375.

Instructions for use:
The database is divided into three different categories representing
Crusader, Islamic, and Armenian sites. Since many of the places often
changed hands some
of them may be listed in more than one category, provided that they
were of a certain significance. The entries predominantly cover
fortified sites of relevance for the period.
Therefore, sites outside the geographical scope like those in Western,
Northern and Eastern Turkey, Iraq, and Lower Egypt are not included.
The transliteration of Arabic terms follows the Romanization Tables of
the ALA-LC (American Library Association-Library of Congress), in order
to facilitate readability.Column 1 ("Site Name"): The most commonly used
toponym is
given, followed by the language (in brackets) it belongs to. For the
abbreviations of the languages see the list at the end of the chart.Column 2 ("Ancient/Variant Names"): Here the
range of
verified place names from antiquity onwards including the most
important variants is displayed.Column 3 ("Geographic Coordinates"): Latitude
and
longitude of the site are given in decimal degrees. They are linked to
Google Maps where the location is shown in the satellite view.Column 4 ("Occupation"): Here the history of
occupation is
given. The data are
obtained from the analysis of a wide range of
sources. For the abbreviations of the different ruling
parties/dynasties
see the list at the end of the chart (second column). An "id." refers
to the content of the cell listed immediately above.Column 5 ("Foundation of Fortification"): The
data are
drawn from archaeological evidence and other sources like inscriptions.Column 6 ("Type of Site"): The character of a
site in the
medieval period is mentioned.Column 7 ("Type of Fortification"): The nature
of the
site´s fortification in the medieval period is mentioned.Column 8 ("State of Preservation"): The site´s
state
of today is given.Column 9 ("Excavation (E), Survey (S)"):
Excavations and
surveys on the site are mentioned.Columnn 10 ("Excavation Report (E), Monograph
(M)"): The
main publications dealing with the fortification of the site are given,
whereas "id." refers to the author mentioned before.